How does DNA change in a GMO?

Expert response from Community Manager

Tuesday, 01/12/2015 12:30

The components, or building blocks, that make DNA in a GMO plant are no different from the components used to build DNA in any natural plant or organism, the only difference is the order, or sequence, of the building blocks of a GMO plant compared to the natural plant. This sequence may be changed in different ways. Here are the options:

1. A whole new gene from another organism can be inserted into the GMO plant’s DNA. This will allow the plant to make a protein that is not normally made by that plant.
2. A mutation can be performed in which only one base pair in the normal plant gene is altered. This can change the efficiency of the protein coded by that gene, anywhere from making it work better to making it not work at all.
3. A gene can be moved from one location on a chromosome to a different location that will change its expression level.
4. The part of the DNA that regulates the gene’s expression can be changed while not changing the actual gene itself. This can have an effect on how much protein is made by the gene.
5. The DNA can be changed so that a gene is expressed in only a certain part of the plant.

The change made to the DNA depends on the trait desired in the plant. While the effect of the change may be important to protecting the plant, or using the plant to produce something it doesn’t usually produce, the percent of DNA that is actually changed is very low and hardly detectable. The DNA in a GMO plant is more than 99.9 percent the same DNA as in a normal plant.   

In fact, every time any seed germinates, the DNA is changed to some degree, but because it seldom results in any change in the plant, it goes undetected. Evolution through natural DNA mutation is happening every day in every plant as it grows and reproduces, whether it is a GMO plant or a non-GMO plant. The difference is, a mutation in a GMO plant is planned, while a mutation in a non-GMO plant occurs randomly.

Expert response from Community Manager

Tuesday, 01/12/2015 12:30

The components, or building blocks, that make DNA in a GMO plant are no different from the components used to build DNA in any natural plant or organism, the only difference is the order, or sequence, of the building blocks of a GMO plant compared to the natural plant. This sequence may be changed in different ways. Here are the options:

1. A whole new gene from another organism can be inserted into the GMO plant’s DNA. This will allow the plant to make a protein that is not normally made by that plant.
2. A mutation can be performed in which only one base pair in the normal plant gene is altered. This can change the efficiency of the protein coded by that gene, anywhere from making it work better to making it not work at all.
3. A gene can be moved from one location on a chromosome to a different location that will change its expression level.
4. The part of the DNA that regulates the gene’s expression can be changed while not changing the actual gene itself. This can have an effect on how much protein is made by the gene.
5. The DNA can be changed so that a gene is expressed in only a certain part of the plant.

The change made to the DNA depends on the trait desired in the plant. While the effect of the change may be important to protecting the plant, or using the plant to produce something it doesn’t usually produce, the percent of DNA that is actually changed is very low and hardly detectable. The DNA in a GMO plant is more than 99.9 percent the same DNA as in a normal plant.   

In fact, every time any seed germinates, the DNA is changed to some degree, but because it seldom results in any change in the plant, it goes undetected. Evolution through natural DNA mutation is happening every day in every plant as it grows and reproduces, whether it is a GMO plant or a non-GMO plant. The difference is, a mutation in a GMO plant is planned, while a mutation in a non-GMO plant occurs randomly.